1
'Right now it's probably the one position the coaches haven't inked in': Why there is no clarity yet over who will be Lions No10
Out-half has been described by ex-Lions skipper Sam Warburton as the one position where tour boss Warren Gatland and his recently confirmed list of assistant coaches don’t have any real clarity regarding a pecking order and he feels the situation will only clear up after the first few weeks of their South African tour.
ADVERTISEMENT
Of all the predicted Lions XVs published by pundits and fans in recent weeks leading up to the May 6 squad announcement, there has been little consensus on the identity of the likely starting No10 when the Lions face the Springboks in the first Test on July 24.
England’s Owen Farrell and Ireland’s Johnny Sexton, the starting Test No10s for the 2017 series versus the All Blacks, both had inconsistent Guinness Six Nations campaigns recently, mixed form that enhanced the credentials of title-winning Wales out-half Dan Biggar and Scotland’s Finn Russell.
Biggar travelled as the third Lions out-half in 2017 and he didn’t let the squad down, demonstrating his value during the midweek matches, while Russell was fleetingly involved as one of the infamous ‘Geography Six’ drafted into the squad mid-tour by Gatland to lighten the training load.
If 2013 and 2017 tour skipper Warburton is to be believed, there is no standout No10 candidate at the moment and he is wondering if this is the year that the somewhat underrated Biggar comes through to elbow aside Farrell and Sexton and become the Lions No10 Test side starter.
The two-tour captain has nominated his successor and believes four forwards and two backs are dead certs for the Lions Test team XV https://t.co/tbU83Ez10b
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 21, 2021
“If all of them started I wouldn’t bat an eyelid,” he said after unveiling the Canterbury jersey the Lions squad will wear on tour. “People have shown me their teams over the past two weeks and whoever is at 10 I’m ‘yeah, I can’t argue’. I’m trying to take off my Welsh hat but I’m thinking Dan Biggar has got three Six Nations titles to his name, World Cup quarter, World Cup semi, Lions tour under his belt already, won a PRO14 title, a brilliant goal-kicker…
“Last year he was statistically the best kicker in the world, great under high ball, great defensively, great reader, competitive. On the 2017 tour because he had two iconic players in their pomp in Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton, but he played amazing. He was so unfortunate he had two icons ahead of him.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I wonder whether this is his year. It would be foolish now to pick who your Test 10 is going to be. That will unfold in the first three or four games on tour. Right now it’s probably the one position the coaches haven’t inked in. It’s the one position they do want to ink in but they haven’t and that will unfold early on tour.”
"He has to take them because their ceiling is so high if they play well"
– Sam Warburton on the credit in the bank that a trio of Saracens players have ahead of Lions tour selection despite poor England form
https://t.co/UpnEJAZuxA— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 22, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
7 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
7 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
7 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
19 Go to comments